Granting the Supreme Court docket discretion transformed it into a law-developing court.

Evidence

The U.S. Supreme Court sits at the apex of the federal judicial system. It hears appeals from the federal courts of appeals, from state supreme courts, and, occasionally, from federal district courts or the Court of Military Appeals. The Constitution also assigns the Supreme Court a very limited original jurisdiction (cases it hears as a trial court), but this rarely involves more than one or two cases per year. Over the last decade, more than 7,000 cases were appealed to the Supreme Court annually, and the Court typically accepted about 1 percent for review. The number of cases heard by the Supreme Court has declined dramatically in recent years. Whereas the Court decided 147 cases in its 1987 term, it decided only 69 in its 2016 term. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 369 (#expands, via linked claim)

The Court’s decisions have a dual aspect, resolving particular disputes and announcing legal standards to be applied in future cases. Often the grounds on which the Court decides, or the breadth of the legal princi- ples it announces, is as important as the vote itself. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1572 (#expands, via linked claim)

By diverting routine cases to intermediate appellate courts, a state allows its supreme court to devote its attention to cases that raise important policy issues and to assume a position of leadership in the legal development of the state. As Chapter 11 shows, some state supreme courts have availed themselves of this opportunity to undertake major initiatives in tort law and constitutional law. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 441 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Supreme Court’s docket has shrunk dramatically while its discretionary power grew — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 369; Court structure shapes which policy issues a supreme court can address. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 441; Judges create law when forced to resolve statutory ambiguity. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 187 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• The Supreme Court’s docket has shrunk dramatically while its discretionary power grew #expands (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 369
• Court structure shapes which policy issues a supreme court can address. #expands (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 441
• Supreme Court decisions both settle disputes and announce future legal standards #expands (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1572
• Judges create law when forced to resolve statutory ambiguity. #exemplifies (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 187